The Copenhagen conference in December must be the moment when nations reach a historic agreement about the future of the planet’s climate, the Prime Minister has said.
Gordon Brown has warned the Major Economies Forum that countries must not wait until a future date to agree a successor to the Kyoto Agreement on climate change.
The forum was established earlier this year to provide a more informal meeting to discuss key elements of the agreement that will be negotiated at Copenhagen.
- Read more about the forum and watch coverage of the event on the Act on Copenhagen website
The PM said:
“In every era there are only one or two moments when nations come together and reach agreements that make history - because they change the course of history. Copenhagen must be such a time. There are now fewer than fifty days to set the course of the next fifty years and more. So, as we convene here, we carry great responsibilities, and the world is watching.
“If we do not reach a deal at this time, let us be in no doubt: once the damage from unchecked emissions growth is done, no retrospective global agreement, in some future period, can undo that choice. By then it will be irretrievably too late.”
Mr Brown said that countries cannot continue to operate on a “business as usual” basis and the route to a low carbon global economy will require a high level of international cooperation.
He also called for world leaders to engage directly in the negotiations to speed up the path to an agreement.
Speeches and transcripts: PM’s speech to the Major Economies Forum
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